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Kansans challenge Obama ahead of speech

Audience members take a photo as they wait for the arrival of President Obama Tuesday at Osawatomie High School.

President Barack Obama greets people on the tarmac upon his arrival Tuesday at Kansas City International Airport, Tuesday.

Stepping off Air Force One and into the chilly Kansas morning in a state that no Democratic presidential candidate has carried since the 1960s, President Barack Obama may have expected to face a few dissenters.

But with his speech at Osawatomie High School less than two hours away, the only protesters to be seen came from an unexpected source: the left-wing.

Four women from pro-choice groups came from Wichita bearing signs that urged the President to resist efforts by U.S. Catholic bishops to weaken birth control coverage in his Affordable Care Act.

They were led by Kari Ann Rinker, coordinator of the Kansas branch of the National Organization for Women, who released a statement Monday challenging Obama on the contraception issue.

“The President’s vague answers and lack of official statement on this subject is disconcerting,” the statement read.

Obama's speech was set to focus on the economy, but that did not dissuade the women.

"The president's speech is focusing on fairness for all — a fair deal and a fair shake," Rinker said. "And we ask that he gives a fair deal and a fair shake to women who need contraceptive coverage across the United States. So we do believe there's a connection there."

The women moved slowly through the line of people that stretched around half of Osawatomie High, talking and handing out info cards. Their presence did not seem to cause any problems.

According to Osawatomie Police, the Westboro Baptist Church and a small group of Republicans had notified law enforcement of their intent to protest the speech as well, but neither was visible at the high school as of 11:30 a.m.

In the lead-up to Tuesday’s speech, a number of the state’s Republicans issued statements skeptical of Obama’s attempt to conjure memories of Theodore Roosevelt's 1910 "New Nationalism" speech — also delivered in Osawatomie.

Amanda Adkins, chair of the Kansas Republican Party, called Obama’s economic record “all rhetoric and no results” and said that when Roosevelt visited Osawatomie federal spending represented 2 percent of the nation’s GDP , while it has risen to 25 percent under Obama.

“It is time for a return to fiscal responsibility and limited government,” Adkins’ statement reads.

The release also noted that Roosevelt's speech was scaldingly critical of politicians who don’t keep campaign promises and included a link to a Republican National Committee document outlining several unkept Obama promises.

Republican Congressmen Tim Huelskamp and Mike Pompeo both released statements criticizing the speech as a campaign stunt.